Dreaming of You
by SummerSun1547
Summary: Natsu's imagination gets a little carried away, and Lucy hears something she was definitely NOT supposed to hear!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I do not own Fairy Tail. Cover image belongs to Inubaki. This is my first post, feedback is greatly appreciated!

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Natsu was dreaming.

It was his favorite dream, but it was always a hard one to wake up from, to realize it wasn't real.

Natsu had always known that Lucy was way out of his league. The first time he heard Lucy gushing to Levy about smart, pretty, charming men from the books they read, he felt an aching in his chest. But now, after so long, it wasn't something he gave much thought. He just wasn't what she was looking for, romantically. So he would do everything he could to make Lucy, his best friend, happy. Part of that was never showing her his true feelings. He couldn't risk their friendship… he knew it would make her uncomfortable, and he was content to the way things were. They always had a blast, after all!

But it was on nights like tonight, where Natsu's imagination could do as it pleased.

 _He ran his hands up and down the sides of her body, whispering in her ear, "Lucy". He held Lucy in his arms, nuzzling her neck, as she sighed in content. It felt so real, he never wanted to wake up._

 _"Natsu," she replied softly, smiling at him._

 _He looked into her eyes, seeing the love her felt mirrored in her gaze, and replied, "Luce, I love you, let's be together…"_

 _"Okay," she replied easily, and he bent his face down to finally kiss her…_

Natsu woke with a gasp, his eyes immediately connecting with Lucy's, which were wide as saucers. _SHIT_ he thought, realizing he was holding Lucy exactly the way he had just dreamt. And if that was the case…he prayed he hadn't said anything out loud.

"Natsu…." real-life Lucy started, but she couldn't seem to find the words. Usually, she would push him away when they woke tangled together like this, but she didn't move away from him this time. _Maybe it's not a lost cause after all?_ Natsu thought, but his inner voice quickly rebutted _Don't get ahead of yourself, buddy._

He knew he needed to do damage control before this got ugly. How could he play this off? A joke? Dreams don't mean anything? Nothing seemed like it would work, but he had to try.

"Luce, what's up?" _Just play it cool,_ he coached himself. Maybe she didn't hear him after all?

"Natsu… You were talking in your sleep. And you said…you said you… l-lo…"

"Well yeah Luce! Of course I love you! You're my best friend! Besides Happy, of course," Natsu hastily interrupted, hoping she couldn't hear the tremor in his voice or how hard his heart was pounding.

Lucy looked away, seeming to consider his answer. _Let it go! Forget it!_ Natsu wanted to yell, but waited for her to respond.

"But you said…'let's be together'… What did that mean?" _Oh crap._

"I dunno Luce, I don't really remember the dream…" Natsu replied, scratching the back of his head as he tried to think of an excuse, "Maybe we were teaming up for a mission? Don't worry about it Luce, it's not like I like you _like that_ or anything. Haha!" He laughed nervously.

"R-right, of course not. I'm just being silly" Lucy responded, looking down. After a moment, she turned around, facing the wall. "Good night," she called over her shoulder.

 _Whew, that was close!_ Natsu though, relieved. Their friendship was still intact.


	2. Chapter 2

Walking along the canal to the guild hall the next morning, Lucy's mind was playing on an infinite loop. Natsu's peaceful sleeping face, his arms caressing her body, as he said those shocking words. She always thought Natsu was too thick-skulled to even understand romantic love. She had to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. There was no way she could ask Happy, so she would go to the only other person to could possibly have any answers.

When she arrived at the guild hall, it was buzzing with activity in the mid-morning of a late spring day. The jeering and fighting jarred her from her thoughts momentarily, but she recovered her resolve and made a bee-line for her favorite bar-maid at the back of the main hall. Mira seemed to know everything that was going on in the guild.

"Mira, something happened yesterday, and I need your advice." Lucy blurted nervously.

Mira's brow quirked up as she set down the mug she was drying. Leaning over the bar to Lucy, she teased "Is it about Naaatsu?" throwing in a wink for good measure.

"Shhhh!" Lucy said, rising out of her barstool, frantically looking around to see if anyone had heard. Luckily, the place was so busy, nobody seemed to be paying them any attention. And Natsu was nowhere to be seen.

"Mira… Yesterday, in his sleep, Natsu said…well… he said… 'Luce, I love you, let's be together,' but he told me when he woke up it was like friend-love. What do you—"

"Well of course he loves you, Lucy. He's been in love with you for a long time," Mira said matter of factly. She picked up another mug to dry before continuing, "But he doesn't think you would ever be interested in him in that way, so he never talks about it." she finished.

Lucy's brain was running a hundred miles an hour, no singular thought clear enough to grasp onto. Mira continued drying mugs as though she hadn't turned everything Lucy thought she knew upside down.

 _How could I not know? All this time?!_ For years, she thought Natsu was completely blind to this type of thing, and all along, he was hiding his feelings for her? She felt so many conflicting emotions. Shock that she could be so blind to something like this. Elation that her feelings were returned. But most of all, Lucy felt sorrow. Sorry for Natsu, that he had suppressed his feelings for so long, as she went along completely unaware. It was this emotion that drove Lucy from her chair, it's legs scraping against the hardwood in protest of her sudden movement.

"Thanks Mira!" she called over her shoulder as she ran from the guild hall. She had to tell Natsu that she reciprocated his feelings, that he wasn't alone in this!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Natsu took his time getting to the guild that morning. He had run home from Lucy's house when the sun came up, and was in no rush to see her. Knowing Lucy, she would be all awkward about _it_ , and he wasn't in the mood to deal with that just yet.

"Oiiii Happy!" he hollered to the Exceed flying above him, "Let's go fishing!" Though he lacked the patience to enjoying traditional fishing, trying to catch them with his hands was good training, and he and Happy could save money on food!

As Natsu and Happy strolled along the canals at a leisurely pace, Natsu's mind drifted to his dream from the night before. _At least it was one of the tamer ones_ , he thought with a chuckle. A quick pit-pat of footsteps caught his attention, and was quickly followed by an all-too-familiar scent. Natsu felt panicked and excited at the same time; he was always happy to see Lucy, but he wasn't prepared to rehash _that_. Even worse, Happy was there to tease him relentlessly.

Since Lucy hadn't called out to him yet, he continued toward the river, listening to her approach. He could hear her labored breathing and pounding heart, and her scent was enveloping him with every step. She would call out to him any second now, he guessed.

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A/N: Working on more chapters!


	3. Chapter 3

_Why isn't he turning around, he must hear me coming!_ Lucy raged internally. _Of course, the last place I think to check would be the place he was headed…_ Her throat was like sandpaper from sprinting to Natsu's house, then to her own apartment, then back to the guild to make sure she didn't miss him on his way there.

Just as she came up behind him, his pink hair fluttering with the breeze, doubt crept into her head. _What if Mira is wrong?_ she worried, before remembering the resolve that sent her running after him in the first place. She wouldn't hide anymore.

When Natsu could feel Lucy just steps behind him, he sighed, calling out to the Exceed ahead of him, "Happy, go on. I'll meet you at the usual spot." He heard Lucy's steps halt as he spoke, and stopped where he stood as well.

Happy turned toward them, about to question Natsu, but stopped when he saw Lucy, and a sly smile crossed his face. "Ohhh, hey Lucy! I'll leave you two be," he replied, giggling, before flying off.

 _Guess we're doing this now,_ Natsu thought as he turned around. Lucy stood with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.

"Why are you so out of breath?" he asked.

"Because… I have been… running… all over… looking for you!" She said between pants, still looking at the ground.

"Oh, yeah. We haven't gone to the guild yet…" he trailed off. _Man, this is awkward. Stupid sleeping Natsu, ruining it for the rest of us!_ he chastised himself.

When Lucy stood back up, he trained his eyes to her face, trying to pick apart her expression. The redness of her face was giving way to subtle flush, and the sheen of her skin reflected the late-morning sun. She clenched her fists at her sides before abruptly stepping toward Natsu so they were toe-to-toe. Even though he was used to being this close to her, hell, she let him _cuddle_ her sometimes when it was especially cold out, his heart still picked up its pace, and he could feel his cheeks heating to match Lucy's. They stood that way for a moment before Lucy took a deep breath and looked up into his eyes. Natsu's mind was totally blank, he had no idea what to think or do.

"Natsu…" she started, "tell me the truth." She held his gaze, refusing to look away. Her face was inches from him, and her scent was as intoxicating as ever, but it was the hope he thought he saw in her eyes that pulled the words from his mouth before he could stop them.

"I dream about you almost every night" he blurted, before slapping his hand over his mouth. _Shit, now you've really done it!_

He expected her to slap him, or call him a weirdo, so he wasn't at all prepared her to close the remaining distance between them. Her soft lips pressed against his, light as a feather, gone again so quickly he wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him. When he saw there shy smile, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. _Lucy kissed me!_

 _Ahhh I kissed Natsu!_ Embarrassed as she was, she couldn't stop herself from smiling. She was still reveling in Natsu's words when a shadow came over her, and soft pink hair rested against her forehead. Before she could react, his lips met with hers again, his strong arms pulling her into him. The sensation felt foreign and familiar all at the same time, his usually warm skin scorching where it touched hers.

She withstood the heat for a few more seconds before pulling back, complaining "You're too hot Natsu! Don't burn me!" as she pushing him lightly on his chest. Natsu held her palm against his chest, allowing Lucy to feel the rapid pounding of his heart in tune with her own. Lucy felt a calm settle over her, as through the storm within her had finally dissipated.

"Let's go fishing, Natsu."

A/N: Thank you for reading! I greatly appreciate any feedback on my first story, I know it's a little short.


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